See the Forest through the Trees
by jlb141
Summary: A silly one-shot; a "girl's night out" for Hawke/Merrill/Isabela but with camping. It's Hawke/Merrill romance related though this occurs prior to them getting together but sometime after Act 2 has started.


**Author's Note: **These characters are not mine. Hawke (with default name, 'Marian') is a female rogue in this universe. I may write this pairing some more, but this is just a oneshot for now.

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><p>The cool morning breeze brushed the young elven woman's nose, pulling her out of her peaceful slumber. Merrill slowly climbed out of her makeshift bedding to survey the rest of the camp. She was alone. Her two companions were nowhere to be found in the early glow of the morning sun. Two days ago, Merrill, Hawke, and Isabela left Kirkwall for the surrounding wilderness for their annual "Ladies Camp Out" that Hawke started a few years prior. Usually, Aveline joined in; however, her newly found romance with Donnic held her back in Kirkwall.<p>

Merrill decided to hunt down her wayward friends, so she wandered off randomly in the general direction of a grouping of trees. Perhaps Hawke snuck off to enjoy a quiet moment amongst the sylvan splendors of the forest? She must miss that natural beauty of the woods, Merrill thought to herself. The bustling city of Kirkwall hardly afforded one such opportunities, and Merrill was aware that Hawke grew up in the rural city of Lothering.

The elf continued to wander directionless for a few moments until she heard the sound of a creek ahead of her, plus splashing. She cautiously approached the source of the noise and was met with the sight of a nude Hawke bathing in the water, her wet body glistening in early morning sunlight.

Merrill stopped in her tracks and leaned behind a tree, Hawke's form still in view. She was instantly mesmerized. She had never seen the bare female human form before; it looked somewhat different from her elven one. It was larger in certain places...fuller, softer. Her eyes roamed over her nude female friend. An alien hunger rose from deep within. Merrill knew she had developed some form of affection for Hawke over the years since meeting her on Sundermount. She was never able to discern exactly what it was; was she just grateful for her kindness? Was it love? Thoughts of Hawke materialized in her mind even when toiling away nights with the eluvian.

Merrill continued to observe Hawke as she cleaned herself with a piece of cloth and kept watch in spite of the human exiting the water. Hawke slowly rose from the serene surface of the tiny creek and gracefully sauntered over to the spot where she had lain her clothing. Merrill watched unseen behind a tree as Hawke bent over to grab a towel, her supple bottom exposed to the elf's curious eyes...

"Oh, there you are Kitten!" Merrill jumped at the sound of Isabela's voice. She hadn't even hear the pirate approach.

She turned quickly, flustered, "Isabela, I was looking for you and Hawke and I wondered where you two had gone and I..."

"What are you looking at?"

"Oh, nothing. I was just looking for you and..."

Isabela moved to stand next to Merrill and quickly spied the half-nude form of Hawke, still struggling to clothe herself after her bath. Isabela watched Hawke for a few seconds before lifting her right eyebrow and turned to Merrill with a smirk:

"Wait...you were...you were watching Hawke get dressed, weren't you?"

"No! No, it wasn't like that...I was..."

Isabela chuckled softly, "Oh, yes you were! I watched you for a few minutes. You were looking at her the entire time, weren't you?"

"I..."

"Look at you...cat got your tongue? You have a thing for Hawke, don't you?"

"No...I was just looking for her and..."

"Oh, she has a gorgeous body, don't you think? I think you do..." Isabela continued to keep her voice just above a whisper.

"Yes...but I shouldn't be looking. This isn't happening...not really. I was only watching for...something."

"Making sure some wild beast didn't attack her? I bet you weren't doing a good job as 'protector'."

"I wasn't...doing a good job...no, wait...I was."

"There's nothing to be ashamed of...I'm just...a bit surprised...and amused."

"No you aren't. There's nothing to be amused about."

The pair ceased their debate as both spied Hawke, now fully dressed, approach the pair.

"What's going on here?"

Merrill blushed the deepest shade of crimson as the object of her desire stood in front of her, hair still wet and matted to her head.

"What are you two doing? She directed the question to Merrill.

Merrill stammered, "I...well, we were..."

"I was sneaking a peek at your lovely, bathing form and Kitten here caught me. Told me to stop looking on without your permission," Isabela interjected with a sly grin.

Isabela's 'admission' caught Merrill off-guard, "What? I did?"

"Yes you did, Kitten, because you are such a wonderful friend!" Isabela stated as she wrapped her arm around the elf's shoulders.

"I am?"

"Of course you are! Always watching Hawke's back..."

"Oh? I suppose I was."

"Well, that was kind of you, Merrill." Hawke turned her gaze to Isabela, "Just...why were you watching me bathe?"

"Just look at you! That fine ass of yours, peeking its way above the crest of the water. How could I not? Your breasts aren't too shabby. Firm...delicate...you really need to show them off more often."

"I think my breasts are fine where they're at, thanks."

"Oh, they are! Trust me."

Hawke mused, "I'm not going to sleep with you."

"I didn't say anything about sex. I was just...admiring the view. Right, Kitten?"

Merrill was still too horrified to form a proper sentence...the guilt was too much for her to bear, "Yes."

"See, I can appreciate beauty in all its...splendid forms." Isabela gave Hawke's body a quick pass-over with her eyes.

Hawke let out a small chuckle, "I don't mind. I suppose I should be flattered that I caught your discriminating eye."

"See, Kitten. Hawke doesn't mind a little attention now and then. I'm not sure why you worry so much." Merrill fidgeted with her hands for a moment until Hawke spoke:

"Still, Merrill, I'm glad you tried to talk some sense into her."

"Uh, you're welcome? I'm afraid I failed..."

"It's okay, Kitten. I just...can't control myself sometimes around beautiful women," Isabela added with a wink.

"Well then...let's go back to camp and talk about what we plan to do on our last day here. I want to make the most of it," Hawke gestured for the others to follow pursuit.

The trio made their way back to the main camp and sat down amongst their camping gear. Merrill made sure to sit as far away from Hawke as possible, taking a spot close to Isabela opposite of Hawke.

Isabela could sense all the discomfort pouring off of her elven companion.

"So, ladies, what should we do on this final day of our grand camping adventure? Merrill?"

Still unable to properly meet Hawke's eyes, Merrill mumbled, "I don't really..whatever you two wish."

"What was that, Merrill?"

Isabela could no longer contain her amusement over the awkwardness of the situation and laughed aloud.

Hawke, slightly amused, turned her attention to the pirate, "What's so funny, Isabela?"

Isabela continued laughing for a moment before gaining composure, "Oh, nothing. I just feel so stupid for not realizing something so obvious until today."

Hawke's faced scrunched up in confusion, "What would that be?"

Isabela chuckled, "Oh, nothing. Don't worry your pretty little head over it."

Suddenly, Merrill rose up from her seat and made her way over to the forest clearing.

"Merrill? What are you doing?"

"I just...need to be alone right now. "

"No...please stay! I hope I didn't say something to offend. I know I can be a total...ass sometimes...and I don't blame you for Isabela's indiscretion earlier, honest! I don't blame you."

"Oh, just let her go get some space, Hawke. She needs to clear her head."

Hawke watched as Merrill left the gathering before turning to Isabela, "What's going on between you two? Did something happen?"

Isabela sighed, "No. Just give her some space, Hawke. This is my fault..."

Hawke and Isabela remained in silence for a few minutes; but Hawke needed answers and the sprightly rogue hopped up from the ground in order to pursue Merrill. She followed the elven woman's path into the forest clearing and spied her sitting alone against a large tree close to the river. She took a seat next Merrill without a word shared between the two for a long, unmeasurable moment. Merrill's reaction was too random for Hawke to make any sense of it or to figure out the proper way to approach her. After a few more minutes, Merrill finally spoke:

"By the Dread Wolf, why do I always mess things up?"

"You didn't mess anything up. What's wrong? What's going on between you and Isabela?"

"No, nothings wrong with her besides the normal things that she does. I just feel awful for some things that I've done...they have nothing to do with her..."

"What did you do that's so awful?"

"I can't tell you. I really can't. Let's leave it at that, alright?"

"Does it have something to do with your clan?"

"No."

"We can go up the mountain and visit them if you'd like to?"

"There is something I want to discuss regarding the clan and why I left but not now. Maybe when we get back to Kirkwall? Not right away, of course. Unless you have some time available...if not...it can wait for a bit. I...let's go back to camp before Isabela begins to worry."

"Okay, Merrill. At least try to stop worrying about...whatever and enjoy yourself today." Hawke teased.

Merrill flashed a quick smile for Hawke, "I won't. Ah, worry, I mean. Now can we go back?"

"Okay, as you wish," Hawke smiled as she rose up from beside Merrill. The elven woman followed her lead and the pair walked silently back to camp.

Isabela remained alone at camp. Merrill was sweet on Hawke; possibly having naughty thoughts of the woman while watching her bathe, though she wasn't entirely sure what constituted 'naughty' for Merrill. She knew best to avoid making the situation worse by teasing Merrill. A few moments later, as the pair approached, her first question was still suggestive, "So, how was it?"

"How was what?" Merrill responded, unsure of Isabela's intent.

"Your talk or...whatever you two did."

"Oh, wouldn't you like to know, Isabela." Hawke played along and winked. "We still need to figure out what 'fun' we can have today."

"I know. Let's all get naked and jump into that river together. I'm _sure_ we'd all enjoy that. I really didn't get a good enough look at you the first time, Hawke."

Merrill blushed crimson while she imagined herself and Hawke both naked...in the same body of water...mere feet apart..._Please not that!_

Hawke sighed, "Shut up, Isabela."


End file.
